White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki marked the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Thursday by taking a walk into the lions’ den. For the first time as Biden’s most famous person, she appeared on a Fox News weekday program.
Those expecting a protracted, knockdown fight between the spokesperson and the Fox anchor, however, will be largely disappointed. In the end, the 13-minute interview was a mostly friendly exchange that ended with a light question and well-wishes for Psaki’s favorite NFL team.
Companions Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino kicked off a lengthy chat on Thursday morning with some friendly banter, noting that both Psaki and Hemmer are fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, currently competing in qualifying. direct.
“Hopefully there is no breaking news that you have to face against the Bengals. We’ll try to protect you from that,” Perino noted wryly, causing everyone around him to chuckle.
From there, two Newsroom of the United States of America The servers raised some of the biggest points of contention that arose from Biden’s marathon Wednesday afternoon press conference. Specifically, the president’s suggestion that upcoming elections may not be legitimate if the voting rights law is not passed, and Biden seems to indicate that America will be fine with a Russian “mini-invasion” of Ukraine.
Noting that the Democratic ballot measure had failed in the Senate, Perino wondered if the White House would “continue to say” that future elections would be illegitimate.
Psaki, yes tried to delete Biden’s comments via Twitter earlier in the day, stuck to the same talking points. “First of all, I’ve talked to the president a lot about this and he doesn’t predict that the 2022 election will be illegitimate,” she stated. “The point he makes is both, that in 2020, even in the challenging efforts to prevent voting amid a pandemic, there will be record turnout. Democrats and Republicans — turnout records. His view is that the former president asked seven or more states to overturn the outcome of the election. Now obviously, if there is an attempt to do that, we have to fight against it.”
Throughout the conversation, Psaki appeared cheerful and sociable, no matter what the host’s question she turned out to be. She also relies on common interests and common ground to try to deprive the people who interview her.
For example, after Perino asked her if it’s “lost” to unvaccinated Americans now that several European countries are easing regulations and restrictions on vaccines as the Omicron surge dissipates. variable or not, the press secretary referred to the Hemmer’s Bengals fandom.
“At the same time, Dana, you have a really important point. We don’t want to live like this. You heard the president say we don’t want to live like this forever,” she said. “Of course, we want to go back to a time when we weren’t wearing masks. Where we don’t worry about our kids going to school and where we can keep going and cheer for the Bengals. It’s yours, Bill. ”
Psaki made the dish a little difficult – at least when it came to one of Hemmer’s questions.
After the veteran reporter noted that immigration and border security had never been the subject of the Biden press, Hemmer asked Psaki if we should expect a record year of clashes. forehead at the border in 2022 or not.
“Well, I’m surprised with Bill too,” replied Psaki with a smile. “It was a press conference that lasted almost two hours and people asked whatever they wanted, including crazy questions in it.”
The press secretary is referencing the topics of reporters from right-wing agencies—including Fox News reporter Peter Doocy—Decided to ask the president about Wednesday. Doocy, for example, Biden asked why he “tried so hard” to “pull the country far to the left.” James Rosen, a disgraced former Fox News reporter who now works with rival network Newsmax, used his time to press Biden about “cognitive fitness. ”
Even on the subject of Russia and Biden’s comments, which have caused international headaches, Psaki remained steadfast in his script. Even after Hemmer read aloud a tweet just posted by the president of Ukraine has attracted attention at Biden for seemingly shrugging off a “small invasion” of Russia.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” she replied. “I want to be very clear. The President has directly communicated to President Putin that if there is any movement of troops across the border, it is an invasion. If they infiltrate, it is an invasion and there will be heavy economic consequences. I know the President of Ukraine knows it and we communicated it.”
Towards the end, the interview was in full swing as the anchor players once again engaged in a light-hearted exchange with the Biden player. Perino, a former White House spokesman, concurred with Psaki, especially about a president deciding quickly to extend a press conference. (Former Bush Administration Official) praised Psaki in the past.)
“When the president says – look at your watch and say, ‘I guess I’ll go another 24 minutes,’ I’m curious what your exact heart rate was at that time?” Perino quipped.
“In general, I am a rather cold person. I may not always seem that way in the boardroom but I will say I know – I watched him and knew he was having a good time,” replied Psaki beaming.
“I’m having a heart attack because of you,” Perino joked.
